New Assistant Principal selected

Dr. Andrew Coleman, a former Assistant Principal and Principal at various secondary schools in Montgomery County, Ohio and Georgia, has replaced Linda Wolf as one of Blair's five grade-level administrators. He will work with James Short to oversee the incoming class of 2009.

Coleman, who served most recently as an Assistant Principal at Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, had mixed reasons for accepting the same position at Blair. He says an obvious advantage of his move is Blair's proximity to his home, but he also was attracted by the "opportunity to serve a very diverse student population," similar to the ones he served as Principal of Wilbur Wright Middle School in Dayton, Ohio and Carver High School in Columbus, Georgia.

While Coleman enjoyed his time at Churchill and acknowledges he learned much there, he feels he has a similar background to many students at Blair. He says his driving force is asking "How can I help somebody else?" and that "It's all about giving back."

Coleman's energy next year will not, however, be spent entirely on Blair. He teaches at the Doctoral and Masters level at Bowie State University and the University of Dayton. Coleman also is putting the "finishing touches" on his book, titled "Against the Odds: A Testament of Hope," which should be released next spring. He says the book is autobiographical in a sense, but also discusses the importance of mentors and "how to make the system work for you."

Coleman's main goals at Blair are to work collaboratively with faculty, staff and students to give freshmen a firm foundation in both academic and character education and to improve literacy across the board. He believes order, discipline and academics are interlocking and interdependent, and summarizes his views by saying "I don't know everything - there's more that I don't know than I do. The key is continual learning and growing."